Women and the Internet

Project Title: Increasing women's decision making and influence in Internet Governance and ICT policy for the realisation of women's rights in Africa

Funder: UN Women Fund for Gender Equality

The overall goal is to increase women's decision making and influence in internet governance and ICT policy for the realisation of women's rights in Africa. It will increase the capacity of women in South Africa and Uganda to discuss, analyse, respond to and influence policy on gender and internet governance more effectively.

The internet is a potentially transformative space. But there is a serious lack of integration of a gender, women’s rights and sexual rights perspective into internet governance conversations and processes. This is essential if the internet is to fulfill its transformational potential for all.

Women’sNet, WOUGNET and the Association of Progressive Communications will build the capacity of women leaders in Uganda and South Africa to increase their participation in internet governance and decision making making processes and empower them to influence the development of national laws and policies and regional processes about the internet and ICTs to respond to women’s strategic concerns in these two countries and in the region.

In addition the project will reach women’s rights and civil society activists, LGBTI activists, government representatives and community based activists through online consultations and participation.

The project in its second year will focus on:

- Capacity building using the Feminist Principles on the Internet

- Local Level Conversations on internet policy and women's participation and influence